The present invention relates generally to wood replacement materials. In particular, the present invention relates to a wood-polymer composite material suitable for use in place of natural wood. The present invention describes a process for manufacturing the composite materials.
For several reasons, there is a need to find materials that exhibit the look and feel of natural wood. One reason has to do with the supply of good wood for construction purposes from the world's forests. This supply of wood from mature trees has become an important issue in recent years and as a result the cost of wood has risen.
Several attempts have been made by others to find a wood like material. Many of these efforts have failed due to the qualities of the resultant product.
In addition to natural wood, other materials such as particle board, wafer board, and the like may be replaced by the synthetic wood of the present invention. One noticeable improvement over these materials is that synthetic wood has enhanced moisture resistance.
The present invention overcomes many of the disadvantages of the prior art attempts at a quality wood replacement material that is capable of being produced in a commercially practicable production environment. The present invention includes the combining of cellulosic material with a thermoplastic material and optionally with a cross-linking agent to form a combined product.
In the present invention conventional extrusion equipment is used to fuse the combined product under sufficient conditions to blend the combined product into a homogeneous mixture. The mixture of material is extruded through at least one die in a manner described in greater detail hereinafter.
The extruder preferably comprises a hopper to receive and mix the organic fibrous material and the thermoplastic material before being extruded through the die system. In a preferred material composition of the present invention, the synthetic wood material includes approximately two-thirds organic fibrous or cellulosic material and approximately one-third thermoplastic material in combination. The resultant product has an appearance similar to wood and may be sawed, sanded, shaped, turned, fastened and/or finished in the same manner as natural wood. The resultant product is resistant to rot and decay as well as termite attack. The resultant product may be used for example as, decorative moldings inside or outside of a house, picture frames, furniture, porch decks, window moldings, window components, door components, roofing systems, and any other type of use where structural requirements do not exceed the physical properties of the resultant material.
The present invention is useful in a number of different extrusion environments. More particularly, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is useful in conjunction with the synthetic wood composition and method as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,516,472 which issued May 14, 1996 entitled EXTRUDED SYNTHETIC WOOD COMPOSITION AND METHOD FOR MAKING SAME.